Exhibitor Tax IDs

Please read all of the information below, as it is extremely IMPORTANT.

Anime Boston is required to collect a Massachusetts Sales Tax ID from any exhibitors at the convention and submit it to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR). This means that all Anime Boston Exhibitors, both those in the Artists' Alley and the Dealers' Room, need to register with the Massachusetts DOR and collect sales tax on the products they sell.

A Massachusetts DOR Tax ID is required for participation in both the Dealers' Room and the Artists' Alley and must be submitted every single year an exhibitor participates. There are absolutely no exceptions.

If you do not already have a valid Massachusetts DOR Tax ID, the best way to obtain one is to generate an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and then register it with the Massachusetts DOR as your Tax ID. This process is free, and can be completed online in a short period of time.

Complete EIN Registration instructions can be found on Massachusetts DOR website. Choose "Register" under the "Register Online" section of "Getting Started in Massachusetts". At the end of the process, you will see a screen that can serve as proof of your registration. It is advised to keep a copy of it for your records, whether a printout, screencap, .pdf, etc. This is a permanent registration and does not have to be renewed each year, unless it is canceled.

If you do not register with the Massachusetts DOR to collect sales tax, you will not be allowed to participate as an Exhibitor at Anime Boston.

The Massachusetts DOR Tax ID will be collected by Anime Boston via an online form for all Exhibitors prior to the convention.

Clarifications and ExamplesTo clarify who must submit a Massachusetts DOR Tax ID, here are three common examples for Exhibitors:

An Exhibitor is an individual or business that has space in the Artists' Alley or Dealers' Room. As they are selling for their own benefit, they must submit a Massachusetts DOR Tax ID to Anime Boston.

An assistant helping someone in the Artists' Alley or Dealer Room. They help run the space but are selling someone else's products. Assistants are not selling anything of their own and are not making money directly off the sales (even if they're being paid for their work). Thusly, they do not need to submit a Massachusetts DOR Tax ID to Anime Boston.

An artist in the Artists' Alley who is sharing the space of another artist. If multiple people are sharing a space and each one is selling his or her own items, each individual must submit a Massachusetts DOR Tax ID to Anime Boston.

It is the responsibility of the artist or dealer purchasing the space at Anime Boston to make sure that all applicable people using said space follow the proper procedures with Massachusetts DOR Tax ID submissions to Anime Boston. If any of the exhibitors have been found NOT to have followed procedure, they will be denied space. This includes ejecting them from the space during the convention. Anime Boston must have every exhibitors' Massachusetts DOR Tax ID prior to the start of the convention.

Obtaining a Tax ID for Non-US ResidentsIf you are a resident of any country other than the United States, you may encounter numerous obstacles in fulfilling the requirements to obtain a Tax ID from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. In these situations the process can be much more complicated and take a longer period of time. Taking at least ten weeks to obtain the Tax ID is not uncommon.

Anime Boston is not qualified to give advice for anyone's specific scenario. The most we can do is to point you in the right direction. The best option is to call via phone the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) directly and explain what you are trying to accomplish. You may explain that you are attempting to sell artwork at a one-time, 3-day long event in Boston which requires you to submit an Employee Identification Number (EIN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Both the EIN and ITIN require a Social Security number, which is not available to non-US citizens.

For example, individual clothing items priced under $175 are exempt from sales tax. Any clothing item priced over $175 requires sales tax to be paid only on the difference. So, if a dealer sold a $200 dress, only the difference of $25 would be applicable to Massachusetts sales tax. The total would be:
$200 + (6.25% of $25) = $200 + $1.56 = $201.56

However, even if a dealer or artist is selling only products that would be exempt from sales tax, he or she is still required to submit a Massachusetts DOR Tax ID. This is essentially to inform the state that the products sold were below the tax threshold.

How to Handle the Sales Tax When Pricing and SellingWhen dealing with charging the sales tax to a customer, there are two basic ways to proceed:

Add the 6.25% sales tax to the cost of the product. For example, if an artist is selling a $10 print to someone in the Artists' Alley, the 6.25% sales tax would be added to the $10.00 cost of the print making the total $10.63. By using this method, the sales tax is added on top of the base prices. However, the exhibitor will also have to deal with change instead of just whole bills.

Include the tax in the price. This method already includes the 6.25% sales tax in the $10.00 cost of the print. In this case, the print would really cost $9.41. The sales tax of 6.25% of $9.41 would be $0.59. Adding the base cost of $9.41 and the sales tax of $0.59 results in the $10.00 total. This might be seen as cutting into profits a little, but the exhibitor is also dealing in whole dollars all weekend and will not need to worry about change.

As always, consult with a tax professional for answers to questions. The Massachusetts DOR is also very helpful over the phone.